Monday, April 27, 2015

#psuaged15 returns: Stories on making a difference

Our EIGHTEEN 2015 Penn State Agricultural Education Student Teachers have return from their fifteen weeks completing internships in secondary schools and environmental centers across Pennsylvania and beyond! 



Below is a snapshot of this incredible group of students accomplishments. To learn more about the individual candidates, please view the PSU Teach Ag! Student Showcase: http://tinyurl.com/2015Showcase.

The 2015 student teachers (#psuaged15):

·         Taught 102 different classes to students from K-12th grades that are 40 minute periods to 90 minute “block” periods in length.

·         Delivered 202 units of instruction on topics from leadership development, agricultural mechanics, environmental sciences & natural resources, plant sciences, animal sciences and much more!

·         Impacted the lives of 1,878 individual students.

·         Helped their cooperating centers earn and implement $150,500 grant dollars or extramural funding.

·         Lead students in 251 hours of community service.

·         Has Earned (or will earn) a degrees 5 areas:
o    Agricultural & Extension Education (B.S.); Agricultural & Extension Education (M.S.);  Animal Science (B. S.); International Agriculture Development (Dual Title, M.S.); Wildlife Technology (A.S.);

·         Obtained 11 Minors/areas of emphasis:
o    Animal Science; Agribusiness Management; Environmental Resources; Environmental Inquiry; International Agriculture; Leadership; Military Studies; Poultry and Avian Science; Recreational Parks and Tourism Management; Wildlife and Fisheries Science; Youth and Family Education

·         Will have members who are Pennsylvania Certified (with reciprocity in more than 45 states) in the following 3 areas:
o    Agriscience K-12; Environmental Science; General Science

·         Has 1 Schreyer’s Honor Scholar. Thesis Title: HOW FACULTY AT THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY’S COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES ENGAGE IN THE SCHOLARSHIP OF TEACHING AND LEARNING.

·         Studied abroad in 12 countries, including:
o    Cambodia; Costa Rica; India; France; Germany; Kenya; Lithuania; Mexico; South Korea; Sweden; Thailand; Trinidad & Tobago

·         Completed Domestic Study Aways in Arizona (Multiculturalism in school-based agricultural education) and Colorado (Service Learning Pedagogies with Farm to School Initiatives).

·         Earned 18 different Additional Certifications/Accreditation/Licenses, including(listed alphabetically):
o    Accredited Parliamentarians from the Society of Agricultural Education Parliamentarians; First Aid/CPR/AED Certification; Beef Quality Assurance; Canoe Leadership; Explore Bowhunt;  Hunter Education; Keystone Aquatics Resource (Project Aquatics); Food Science ServSafe Certification; National Safe Tractor and Machinery Operation Instructors; Occupational, Safety and Health Administration Certificate; Pennsylvania Song Birds curriculum; Pennsylvania Wildlife Forensics curriculum; Pennsylvania Amphibians and Reptiles curriculum; Pesticide Applicators License; Project Food, Land & People curriculum; Project Learning Tree; Project WILD curriculum; Raptor Handling

·         Involved in 29 professional organizations, including(listed alphabetically):
o    Ag Club, Penn State Altoona; Agriculture Student Council, Penn State; Alpha Tau Alpha, National Agricultural Education Honorary; Alpha Zeta; American Boer Goat Association; American Quarter Horse Association; Association of Career & Technical Education; Block & Bridle, Penn State; Blue & White Society; Coaly Honors Society, Penn State; Collegiate FFA , Penn State;  Collegiate 4-H, Penn State; Delta Theta Sigma; Gamma Sigma Delta; Graduate Student Association, AEE, Penn State; Kansas City Barbeque Society; Keystone Elk Country Alliance (KECA);  National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE); National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA); National FFA Alumni;  New York Association of Agricultural Educators; Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Educators (PAEE) ; Pennsylvania Association of Agricultural Educators (PAAE); Pennsylvania Farm Bureau- Young Farmers & Ranchers; Pennsylvania FFA Alumni; Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association; Potter-Tioga Maple Association; Society of American Florist; Teach Ag! Society, Penn State

·         Gained experience or have been employed with over 26 different relevant jobs/Internships including (listed alphabetically):
o    Aullwood Audubon Center and Farm - Naturalist Intern; Brydonson Farm - Labor; Centre County Youth Services Bureau’s Big Brothers - Big Sisters Program; Center for Professional and Personal Development; Children Youth Empowerment Centre - Kenya; Keystone Elk Country Alliance - Conservation Education Intern; Lost Hollow Farms; National Association of Agricultural Educators; National FFA Organization; New York Ag in the Classroom; Penn State Pesticide Education Program; Pennsylvania FFA Association; Philadelphia Zoo; Prima Tech; PSU Dairy Barns; PSU Southeast Agricultural Research and Extension Center; PSU Extension - Allegheny County; PSU Extension - Central Susquehanna Valley Extension Office; PSU Extension - Lawrence County; PSU Extension - Potter County;  PSU Extension - York County; PSU College of Agricultural Science Office of Undergraduate Education; PSU Pennsylvania Governor’s School; PSU Arboretum; USDA-NRCS; Wildwood Park (PA); World Food Prize

·         Completed action research projects, including:
o    Assessing impact on student’s academic success of teacher-centered versus student-centered lessons.
o    Analyzing best practices for student exam preparation.
o    Analyzing impact of homework and weight of homework in assessments on student learning.
o    Analyzing length of instructional class period on student learning outcomes.
o    Comparing effectiveness of face-to-face instruction and virtual learning for school field trips to the Elk Country Visitor Center
o    Comparing student achievement in plant and soil science with teacher-centered versus student-centered pedagogical approaches.
o    Comparing impact of video lecture versus face to face instruction on learning satisfaction and student achievement.
o    Comparing student achievement between individual and cooperative assignments.
o    Describing instructional practice impact on cultivating global awareness in secondary students.
o    Impact on student agricultural mechanics projects on community development.
o    Effectiveness of co-teaching on learner satisfaction.
o    Evaluating Pennsylvania schools cell phone policies.
o    Evaluating student comprehension of lab concepts through early exposure pedagogy.
o    Instruction time requirements for adolescent attitudinal shifts regarding integrated pest management.
o    Ethnographic journaling to improve student rapport.

·         Completed custom learning projects for their center, including:
o    Connecting secondary students from Mopan Technical (Belize) and Penns Manor (Pennsylvania) through a bio-digester project
o    Creating an implementation guide for blended learning in secondary agriculture.
o    Creating a Chapter Officer Training program.
o    Creating a Greenhand induction ceremony handbook.
o    Creating CDE Training Kits.
o    Describing learning styles in an agricultural education program.
o    Describing blended learning impact on student engagement.
o    Describing how music impacts creativity and focus of floricultural students.
o    Developing effective FFA Chapter website maintenance student guide.
o    Developing a chapter FFA officer accountability program.
o    Facilitating differentiated learning for successful independent studies in Animal Science.
o    Facilitating a children’s farm show
o    Improving Student literacy skills and recordkeeping in AET.
o    Integrating Forensic Chemistry Principles into Aquatic Resources Class.
o    Managing FFA chapter involvement in school spirit competition.
o    Organizing a career development event day for environmental education
o    Participate in Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Education Conference.
o    Utilizing AET for chapter online publicity.
o    Utilizing SLOs for professional development.

·         Fun Facts
o    One school had over 108 inches of snow - and only TWO snow days :)
o    Multiple guest speakers and community members were integrated in instruction.
o    One student published an opinion piece on PBS: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/im-telling-students-go-college/
o    One student conducted a Global Competency Lesson for Iowa Students from Millersville, Pennsylvania.
o    One student taught for 7 weeks in Belize
o    One student taught for 5 weeks at the Elk County Environmental Center
o    One student lead a multinational effort for the development of educational model bio-digester.
o    One student started a female mentorship program for young girls in their county.
o    Three students are former Pennsylvania State FFA Officers.
o    Teach Like a Pirate was a popular summer reading choice!
o    One student was a Teaching Assistant for THREE different college courses.
o    One student was accepted to present their undergraduate research to the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Conference.
o    Two students presented undergraduate research at the PSU Gamma Sigma Delta Expo.
o    Three students had not prior experience with FFA to the PSU Teacher Education Program.
o    One student was an active member of the Penn State ROTC.

To learn more about their specific student teaching experiences, check out their professional blogs and follow them on Twitter or their story at #psuaged15:

Kate Bassett (@bassklynn). Teach Ag! Army Style
Post Graduate Plans: U.S. Army

Janae Bickhart (@JanaeBickhart). Janae's Journey
Post Graduate Plans: Seeking Opportunity

Morgan Campbell (@mcamp400). Blossoming at the Blackboard
Post Graduate Plans: Seeking Opportunity

Cassidy Cheddar (@crcheddar). Sharing the Journey
Post Graduate Plans: Returning to Penn State!

Amanda Forstater (@CityAggie). Enjoying the Interval
Post Graduate Plans: Seeking Opportunity

Jillian Gordon (@jillianpsu). Traveling (future)Teacher
Post Graduate Plans: Grad School - Georgia

Jasmine Graybill (@JasmineGraybill). Jazzy Adventures
Post Graduate Plans: Pequea Valley Ag Teacher!

Hannah Harris (@han_lou93). History in the Making. 
Post Graduate Plans: Returning to Penn State!

Rea Ianson (@rnianson908). Rea’s Road. 
Post Graduate Plans: Seeking Opportunity

Megan Keller (@MeganLego). From Barn to Classroom. 
Post Graduate Plans: Country View Valley Farms

Bryanna Kenno (@bkenno4). Fulfilling My Niche. 
Post Graduate Plans: Seeking Opportunity

Laura Metrick (@Its_LauraBeth). The Metrick System. 
Post Graduate Plans: Seeking Opportunity

Deanna Miller (@deannapsu15). Half Way to Somewhere
Post Graduate Plans: Seeking Opportunity

Jenna Moser (@JennaLeeMoser). Ready...Set...Teach AG! 
Post Graduate Plans: AgriCorp - Ghana!

Toby Neal (@tjn5065). Neal Valley View.
Post Graduate Plans: Environmental Educator - Elk Country

Howard Poole (@howie_poole). Pooling for Ag Ed
Post Graduate Plans: Seeking Opportunity

Carly-Jean Schaefer (@CarlyJeanBean). Carly-Jean: Ag Ed Machine. 
Post Graduate Plans: Seeking Opportunity

Rachel Telesz (@rachie12rach). Down the Rabbit Hole
Post Graduate Plans: Union City Ag Teacher (PA)!

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